by Ava Sinclair
“What do you see?” I ask.
“Beauty. And sadness.”
“I suppose it is no secret.” I sigh. “Nyron said your oracle told you something of my childhood.”
“Even if he had not told us, it would be clear that you have been wounded in some way.” Xarsi reaches out, extending his hand. It is huge and dwarfs mine when I hesitantly lay it across his palm. He leads me to a chair by the fire and sits down. I’d expected to be taken to his bed, but instead, he pulls me into his lap.
“Syrene of Arkney. I have been thinking of what to gift you, and the only thing that comes to mind is to give you your heart’s desire.”
“And what is that?” My heart flutters in my chest. His thighs are hard beneath my bottom. His body so warm.
He shakes his leonine head. “No, little one. It does not work that way. You must speak it. You must speak the secret desire, before it can be granted. You must speak it, even if it hurts.”
I shake my head. “Lord Xarsi, I don’t have a secret desire.”
“Are you sure?” He reaches up to rub the back of his fingers against my face. Although I can feel the bulge of his cock beneath me, his touch is not sexual. Xarsi catches my gaze, and the eyes I at first thought fierce turn soft.
“When I was a lad, there was a cave on a ridge near my home. The older boys were strong climbers, and each day after lessons or chores, they would scale the rocks to explore that cave. They came back bragging of the adventures they enjoyed. How I wanted to go, but even though I was big for my age, I was not allowed to climb the rocks.” He runs a hand down my arm. “Oh, how I would cry. Sometimes, being denied what is right in front of us creates the worst kind of want.”
I can feel tears welling in my eyes. He falls quiet, and when the first tear falls, he catches it. “Tell me, little Syrene. All these years, what has been your heart’s desire? What did you see and covet, but were denied?”
I draw a ragged breath. This huge, caring man draws me into the circle of his arms. “You can tell me, little one. I’ll hold you through the pain.”
I turn my face into his chest. “My father,” I say, the words coming out as a sob. “He was all I had after my mother died. He should have loved me, should have protected me. He once told me I looked like my mother, that she was good and kind and beautiful. My father turned his back on me. He abandoned me to my stepmother’s cruelty. He would turn and walk out if he caught my half-brothers beating me.” The words come out in a rush now, accompanied by a flood of tears. “My own father turned his back on me, and on the memory of the woman who bore me.”
Xarsi pulls me to him. I feel his lips in my hair. He holds me as I sob out my hurt. Then he gently pushes me back until he can look into my eyes.
“You listen to me, Syrene of Arkney. You cannot change your past, but there is no rule that you must live without a father’s love. I will claim you tonight, but I will be more than your mate and lover. If you ever need to be held— just held— or if you ever need someone to kiss the hurt away, or to tell you that you are the most special and beautiful of girls, you come to me. If anyone ever hurts your feelings and you need a champion, you come to me. If you ever feel the need to curl up in someone’s lap and sleep in their arms, you come to me. I am not a man of words, but I promise to always listen to your heart. My gift to you is a lifetime of what you were denied as a child. I will be your mate, but one who gives you a father’s love when you need it.”
And now I have no words. I wind my arms around Xarsi’s neck, resting my cheek on his huge shoulder. He rocks me by the firelight, humming a little tune. I feel my body relax, feel the strength of him beneath me. I feel safe, safer than I’ve ever felt.
Then I feel something else. I feel arousal.
It’s different than the arousal I felt with Edrys or Nyron. It’s an arousal that comes from a different place. It’s an arousal that comes from a need deeper than the physical. I feel like a child in Xarsi’s arms, like I’m being held by the biggest, strongest man in the world. And I can feel by the growing hardness pressing from beneath me that this mighty man wants me, too.
I tilt my head up towards his. The kiss that meets my lips is gentle, and that gentleness feels like power, too, because I know the strength it must take for him to be so careful, so restrained. I open my mouth and feel his tongue sweep through it. I moan and press my breasts to his chest through my gown.
Xarsi stands and carries me to his massive bed. He lowers me to sit and reaches for the hem of my gown, his eyes seeking my consent to remove it. I nod and raise my arms, allowing him to lift it off me. He tosses the garment aside and removes his sash and skirt. I must avert my eyes when I see his cock. It is so large that the sight of it makes me blush, but I know now there is nothing to fear; these huge Drakoryan cocks bring such pleasure, after all, and I know this man will do nothing to cause me any hurt.
Xarsi sits on the edge of the bed.
“Do you know how beautiful you are, Syrene of Arkney?” He looks at me with wonder. He looks at me the way I looked at the rocks in the Singing Cavern. “How is it that the people of your village did not sing ballads to your perfection? What dullards they must be.”
He reaches out his hand and places it between my breasts. He runs it down my body, and the heat of his gentle touch stirs a flutter between my legs. As his hand moves lower, the flutter becomes a throb. When he reaches my lower belly, I spread my legs.
“Will you touch me, my lord?” I ask.
“It would be the greatest pleasure of my life, little one.” Xarsi slides the tip of his finger through the seam of my pussy, and then slips two fingers inside me. I moan and follow the motion of his fingers, my eyes locked on his. Xarsi lowers his head and captures a nipple in his mouth. The searing suction has me arching my back from the bed, even as my hips thrust forward to meet his fingers.
“Mmmm,” he says as my pussy clenches on his fingers and I whimper with pleasure as I am buffeted by the waves of my first orgasm.
But my pleasure is just beginning.
With my nipples hard and aching from his attention, Xarsi rises and positions himself between my legs. He grasps my hips and pulls me to him almost roughly. His dark eyes are flashing gold, and my excitement rises as I see him position the head of his cock at the entrance of my eager pussy.
This is my third claiming. My virgin modesty has fled, and I want to watch. I want to see him enter my body. Xarsi spreads my legs and his cock begins to enter me, stretching and spreading me, making me feel deliciously dominated. And then, something I did not expect. When he is nearly in me, a ridge forms on the top of his cock, at the base. It swells and elongates, forming a separate, smaller appendage with two fleshy tendrils at the end. Xarsi flashes me a knowing smile and eases farther into me. His cock begins to vibrate, while at the same time the little tendrils begin to seek my clit, tickling and teasing like two tiny tongues. The orgasm I experience when he begins to move takes me by surprise. My screams of pleasure fill the room as my claws rake down his back. I wrap my legs around his waist, digging my heels into his muscular ass as his hands find mine, holding me tight.
Xarsi fucks me hard, harder than either of his brothers. His body is raw power, and I am swept away by his mastery of me.
“Oh, yes,” I say. “Yes.” And I hear his deep laugh as I sink my teeth into his shoulder. His response is to fuck me until I break my grip with another orgasmic cry.
There are many orgasms with Xarsi this night. In between, he holds me, or feeds me with his own hand. He tells me I am beautiful, that I am his little one, and that he will dedicate himself to my protection.
When I fall asleep, it occurs to me that what I fought the first night I came here is the best thing that ever happened to me. And I wonder what will come next, now that all three Lords of Jo’lyn have claimed me as their own.
Chapter 12
NYRON
Although we have all claimed Syrene, she is not yet fully ours by Drakoryan tradition. There is yet anothe
r hurdle. Before we achieve the Deepening— the final step in our journey to being full mates —we must reveal our hidden side.
We must show ourselves as the dragons we can become.
Syrene has already seen Edrys in dragon form, although she doesn’t know it. He was the one who claimed her from the Altar Rock in Arkney, coming to her in the form of a copper-colored drake.
She’d shown no fear at the time. Under any other circumstances, that would be encouraging, but we now realize that Syrene’s stoicism in the face of a dragon wasn’t borne of bravery, but from resignation to what she’d believed would be an escape from her life of pain.
We have arranged a private dinner with our mate in Edrys’ chamber ahead of our revelation. If the maids who bring us the food have any questions about the long night, they do not ask. A human race pressed into service when we took this valley and surrounding mountains for our Empire, the Drakoryan serving class is loyal and obedient.
They bring us some of the food that is being supplied to the charmed guests still enjoying what they believe is a first night’s feast. The long table in a room off my main bedchamber is piled with food, and Syrene stares at the bounty with disbelief.
“There’s so much!” She’s wearing a pale, opalescent gown with a fitted bodice that bares her beautiful shoulders. The skirt around her legs, emphasizing her graceful movement. I’m sure my brothers are thinking the same thing as I: nothing on the table is as tempting as she.
“This is nothing,” Edrys says proudly. “In the great hall there are a dozen tables twice as long as this bedchamber, each so laden with food there’s barely a place for your wine goblet.”
“What would you like?” Xarsi sweeps his hand over the platters before us. Syrene looks overwhelmed as she surveys what we consider a small feast — two suckling pigs, two geese stuffed with roasted chestnuts, meat pies, root vegetables in savory sauce, stewed pears in brandy, and a baked pudding with currants.
When she doesn’t immediately answer, we begin giving her some of everything to sample, each of us doting on her. While we are hungry, at that moment, we are more interested in her reaction than in starting our own meals. It is gratifying to see her eyes widen as she samples foods she never knew existed.
“Here. Try this.” I take a piece of the stewed pear and hold it to her lips. She’s just swallowed a piece of tender meat hand-fed to her by Xarsi. The feel of her accepting the morsel from my hand kindles the fire in my blood.
“Mmm,” she says. “It is so good. In the village, I never got fruit…”
“You’ll have all the fruit you want here. You’ll have anything you want.” I hand her a goblet of wine. “Here, you’ll never grow hungry again. We’ll devote ourselves to satisfying your appetite.” I wink. “Any appetite.”
She colors prettily at my bold flirtation. As she eats, she looks from one of us to the other. We make light conversation about the food, but as the amount dwindles, I see Edrys’ eyes dart to me and Xarsi, indicating that he’s about to shift the conversation.
“Syrene,” he says. “We are honored to have claimed you as our mate. You were named for a reason. The witches have long paired Drakoryan lords with an intended female. When you rejected us, it presented a challenge. I hope that you feel as we do, that overcoming your fear has laid the foundation for a strong bond.”
She regards us quietly. “I know this is my fate, although I do not yet understand it. What does it mean to be your mate?”
“It means to be the Lady of Jo’lyn,” I tell her. “It means to be the lady of this castle, our bride, the eventual mother of our sons. It means that all that we hold becomes yours as well.”
“All …?” She looks around and shakes her head. “I am just a village girl.”
“Every virgin who comes to the Drakoryan Empire is a village girl.” Xarsi speaks now. “What is ours, is hers.” He pauses. “Including our secret.”
“Secret?”
Edrys takes her hand. “You have asked about the dragons.”
She nods. “You control them. Is that your secret?”
We all stand. “Come, Syrene.”
She walks between us as we leave the bedchamber. She does not ask where we are going, and we do not tell her. We take the spiral stairs up through the castle, higher and higher. I can see her casting sidelong glances, but she does not question us. She is trusting us.
The tunnels are dark save for the candlelight. I look forward to the end of the long night and hope that what we are about to reveal will not frighten her. Syrene will learn more about our dragon nature in the Deepening, but every mate reacts differently to seeing her mates shift for the first time.
In the villages, humans are taught to fear the dragons who rule them. It is the dragons who control how much land a village farms; it is the dragons who come in the night to burn acres of land to ash. Girls are raised knowing their names may be called for sacrifice.
The revelation of the Drakoryans’ dragon nature brings fear for some mates, and anger for others who have difficulty accepting that the lords who bedded them and the dragons they grew up fearing are one in the same.
For us, the risk is even greater. We must achieve the Deepening before the sun rises. Time is running out for us. If Syrene is traumatized, she cannot meld her mind with ours in the final consummation that will form our bond.
We cannot keep this from her.
We have reached the great stone ledge where my brothers and I have shifted more times than we can count. Never has more been at stake. Syrene has had so much disappointment in her life, so much betrayal. Will she consider our secret another one?
“What is this place?” The long night is beautiful, and the moon hangs heavy over the mountains.
“It is where the dragons take flight,” Edrys says.
“Is that the secret?” Her voice is quavering. “Are you going to show me your dragons? Where are they?”
“They are here, lady,” I say.
“Here? How?” Her words die away. She stares first at me and then my brothers, and I can tell that reality is dawning on her even before I give her hand a squeeze and tell her not to be afraid. We walk to the edge, leaving her on the back of the platform. When we are in position, my brothers and I look at one another and nod.
We shift simultaneously. I feel the heat that’s been building in my veins overtake me, burning me from inside out. My column of amber flame shoots to the roof of the ledge and morphs into my dragon form of the same color. As it solidifies, I see my brothers changing, too —Edrys into his copper dragon form, while Xarsi shifts into the largest drake of a pewter hue.
We are looking down on Syrene now and as I focus, I see her bring her hands to her mouth. She is staring, her eyes wide, her breast heaving. I am holding my own. We all are. She backs away shaking her head.
No, I think. Oh, no.
Then something incredible happens. Syrene drops her hands and I realize she is laughing and clapping in delight.
“You’re the dragons?” She walks towards us, and we lay down, lowering our heads. “You’re the dragons!” She repeats it, walking from one of us to the other, unafraid, her eyes reflecting double the wonder I saw in the Singing Cavern. She runs her slim hands over our facial scales, molds them to the horns that grow from our heads.
“You’re so beautiful!” Syrene presses her cheek against my snout and I rumble a dragon purr. She moves to Edrys and leans down, running her hand down one of his huge talons. “You…you’re the one who came for me. I remember your beautiful copper scales glinting in the sun, and thinking if this was the last thing I saw at least it was something magnificent.” Then to Xarsi. “My gentle giant.” He stretches his neck low and half-closes a golden eye. I feel a stab of jealousy as she leans down and kisses him tenderly on the ridge above his nostril. His huge mouth curves into a smile.
We could shift back, but her attention to us in dragon form feels like magic. That she not only accepts us as we are but embraces us is more than we could a
sk for. The heart in my dragon’s chest swells. I have felt many things in this form, but never love. It feels as big as the mountain beneath me, as big as the sky. I look to my brothers, who have joined me now with their rumbling dragon purrs. The air around us vibrates.
Tears stream down Syrene’s face. Tears of delight, tears of wonder.
Once more we lose track of time in this magical, suspended night. How long are we on this ledge? We do not know. It could be minutes. It could be hours. Every moment of it is blissful as she walks from one to another and back again, a lady petting her dragons by the light of the long night’s moon.
Chapter 13
SYRENE
The long night that started with my being claimed by three dragon lords was nearly over when I awoke in a circle of dragons.
I did not fall asleep intentionally. I was so fascinated by the transformation that I forgot to be afraid. Suddenly, everything made perfect sense—the unnatural warmth of my mates’ bodies, their size, their strength, the special pleasures they delivered.
It was Xarsi who later asked me why I was not afraid when they’d shifted. For me, the answer was simple. Before the Lords of Jo’lyn took me as their own, all the monsters in my life had been human. I am far more comfortable in the company of dragons.
My mates were not the only ones that transformed on the ledge that night. It was a transformation for me, too. All the hurt and pain I’d experienced in my life was swept into the past. Nothing would ever hurt me again; they’d see to that.
They’d been lying curled up and I’d nestled in the center. Their scales are tough, but also pliable, and so warm. We’d drifted off together and when we’d wakened, it was still night, but the dragons looked to the sinking moon and then at one another. They’d been careful of me as they’d risen and backed away before shifting back into men.
